One Rule For Thee And A Different Rule For Me

Europe is upset at President Trump’s imposing tariffs on imported steel. Well, let’s take a look at some of Europe’s past actions.

According to a story in US News in April 2017, the European Commission imposed taxes on Chinese steel exported to Europe. The taxes (or duties, if you prefer) were betwween 18.1 percent and 35.9 percent.

Meanwhile, CNN reported:

Trump said Thursday that he would impose a 25% tariff on steel imports and a 10% tariff on aluminum imports, a move that has been vociferously condemned by key US allies and trading partners.

The justification for the tariffs – national security concerns — also drew harsh criticism. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel described the administration’s reasoning as “incomprehensible.”

“The EU must respond decisively to US punitive tariffs, which endangers thousands of jobs in Europe. There should be no doubt about that in Washington,” Gabriel said on Friday.

Winterstein said the 28 countries of the EU would respond to the tariffs as a single bloc. The Commission will discuss its response when it next meets on Wednesday.

One obvious move would be to file a complaint against the US with the World Trade Organization. Analysts at UBS said Europe would have a good chance of winning, but that could take 18 months.

In the meantime, the EU could introduce “safeguard measures” if it suddenly sees a surge in steel imports, Winterstein said. These measures could include tariffs or import quotas and can be enacted quickly.

So let’s get this straight–if America imposes tariffs on steel and begins to import less of it, the European Union would move to prevent any increased steel imports to Europe–they might even impose tariffs or import quotas. What? So it’s okay for them to protect themselves from cheap steel imports, but it’s not okay for America to protect itself from cheap steel imports. Good grief! After a while, the globalists are just boring–they are so predictable.